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As a child, Courtney Whitehurst kicked off her camera career in front of the lens as her mother took countless photos. Today, with a decade of experience, the skilled and friendly photographer captures and preserves moments within mantel-worthy kodachromes taken on location. The skilled shutterbug tailors each shoot by incorporating personal items, such as baby's first bottle rocket, or suggesting themes to help subjects ease into their memory-making session. Whitehurst spends at least five hours meticulously editing all photos from a shoot and places no limits on the amount of frames she snaps. She feels passionately about giving back to her community, and when she's not crafting crisp, personal images, she's volunteering with a number of local nonprofits.

Naturally Photography owner and photo sensei Gary Denman is a graduate of both the School of Naval Photography and the Art Institute of Seattle who, for the past 15 years, has specialized in shooting indoor and outdoor destination weddings as well as lifestyle portraits. His school introduces aspiring frame-grabbers to the photography craft as an art, hobby, and profession through four 1.5-hour class periods.

As a child, Colleen Lawson would get lost in photography books and family photo albums, entranced by the colors, emotions, and stories that each picture tells. That was her first love, her second occurring later in life—babies and kids. Today she combines her loves, specializing in portraits of newborns and children in picturesque outdoor settings such as floral parks or foam-washed beaches. She also applies her skills to couples and family portraiture, as well as photo sessions for moms-to-be.

When photographer Kara Michelle Lamm signed her first print for a show, she wrote it as her nickname "KiKi" rather than her given name. The moniker seemed to better fit her artistic side, and it stuck. Nowadays, she works out of her personal studio, KiKi Creates, selling canvas prints of everything from wedding scenes to palm-tree-studded beaches. She complements her own handiwork with custom photo albums and photo booth rentals for events.

Natural-light photographer Vanessa Law combines a reverence for nature with a commitment to capturing her subjects in fresh, candid moments. Lasting one to two hours, the waterside sessions create a stunning natural backdrop, preserving memories of sunny days, cool evenings, or how hard it is to get starfish out of one’s hair. Vanessa consults with her subjects prior to the shoot and then deploys her background as an art photographer and photojournalist to craft dynamic, personal images. Families, circles of friends, and devoted book clubs benefit from the shoots, which can fill the frame with up to six people.